The Piedmont City Council this week gave initial approval to an ordinance that would make changes to how the city deals with potentially dangerous dogs.
City staff said in a report about the ordinance that its most substantive change is to establish a structured process for determining whether a dog should be designated as potentially dangerous or vicious after a reported bite or other attack. The changes also clarify leash requirements and lay out standards for appeals, sanctions and other animal control regulations, according to the report.
The council voted unanimously at Tuesday’s meeting to pass the ordinance on first reading, and it will return at a later meeting for final approval.
“There was a lot of ambiguity,” Police Chief Frederick Shavies told the council, saying the ordinance is meant to “paint a clearer picture for all parties involved.”
The police chief and councilmembers did not mention a particular dog attack case in Piedmont that prompted the changes. Earlier this week, a pit bull in San Francisco attacked and critically injured someone in the city’s Tenderloin neighborhood.
Before the council’s vote, Councilmember Lorrel Plimier asked for clarifications in some of the ordinance’s language regarding whether an attack was unprovoked and how to define severe injuries.
Under the new ordinance, an animal control officer would investigate a reported attack to determine whether there was probable cause to believe the dog is potentially dangerous or vicious, and if so, would issue a written certification to a hearing officer.
A hearing would then be held, and if a hearing officer determines the dog to be potentially dangerous or vicious, there would be restrictions including confinement, fencing, muzzling, leashing or removal from the city or other appropriate measures, according to the city’s staff report.
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